James white



NITED STATES JAMES WHITE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL SAFE AND LOCK COMPANY, OF SAME'PLACE.

METHOD OF FINISHING AND ORNAMENTING SAFES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,567, dated December 6, 1887.

Application filed December 1-2, 1885. Serial No. 185,539. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, JAMES WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio,

5 have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Constructing and Ornamenting Fire-Proof Safes, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore it has been customary to paint [0 and otherwise ornament the exterior surfaces of safes after they have been filled with the nonconducting and fireproofing material. As the filling with the last said material has occurred prior to the application of the paint .or other preserving or ornamenting materials, it has been impossible to use for these purposes any of the coloring materials which require the application of heat for fixing and perfecting them, such as japan. It is well known that metallic surfaces which have been japanned are in many respects superior to those which are merely treated with ordinary paints, and it is the object of this invention, by the use of the process herein described, to render such 2 5 j apanning possible.

In my patent of August 15, 1882, No.262,872, is shown a safe adapted to be finished and ornamented in accordance with the herein-described method.- The safe shown in said patcut is filled with the fireproofiug material through an aperture cut in the top wall thereof.

The safe is left empty until after the japanning and ornamenting process is completed, and by leaving off one or more of the lowermost plates on the bottom during such process currents of air can be allowed to pass between the inner and outer walls, which currents operate in an advantageous manner both while the safe is being heated and during the cooling operation. After the metal parts of the walls have been secured together, I apply to the safe a coat ofjapan, after whichit is moved into ajapanning-oven ofany usual or approved construction.

5 At first it is preferable to employ air ofa comparatively low temperature, which is'gradually raised until the heat has reached about 250 Fahrenheit, more or less, at which temperature the baking will be finished in from eight to ten hours. The safe is then removed from the oven and allowed to cool,when a second coat of japan is put on, after which it is subjected to the same process as above described. After' leaving the furnace the second time and being again cooled, the outer surface of the safe is rubbed with pumicestone or some similar material, in order to obtain a good surface to apply to the best effect the next coat of japan, which should be of the very best quality. The safe is again baked as before, after which, and after the safe has become cool, it is ready to be filled with the fireproofing material and to be ornamented as desired.

As there is a passage-way between the inner and outer walls of the safe, through which cu rrents of hot air can rise and circulate behind the outer wall, a high degree of heat can be applied to said outer wall and the coat of japan thereon, which very largely aids in driving off the gases from the j apanned surfaees,and which expands the metal or opens the pores thereof, so that the japan becomes more thoroughly united thereto.

By following this method of finishing safes 7 I attain many advantages, among which are the following: I save a very large part of the time ordinarily necessary, as it commonly takes ten days, or thereabout, to properly paint and ornament a safe, inasmuch as it must be So allowed to dry in the open air on account of the fireproofing material, and if the drying ofthepaint is hurried too much there is danger of having the paint unevenly distributed and not thoroughly dry, and as a result it cracks 8 5 and peels off. I am enabled by the use of my process to use to good advantage j apan-a materialmuch superior to the ordinary paints.

In carrying out my process a single japanning oven or furnace may be employed, or a 0 series of such furnaces may be employed, the safe being passedfrom one to another, instead of being replaced in the same oven one or more times. p

I do not wish to be understood as claiming 5 to be the first to have applied japan to metal and subsequently bake it, as I am aware that this is a well-known process; but I believe myself to be the first to have constructed fireproof safes by following the series of steps herein set forth-that is to say, first constructing the shell of the safe by securing together the sheets of metal which constitute the inner and outer walls of the chambers for the fireproof material, then, while the said shell is empty, applying the japan and baking it, and finally filling it with the fireproofing material, thereby obviating any attack upon the water of constitutionviu the said material and imparting to the safes a finish and an ornamentation which cannot be obtained by other methods of construction and ornamenting. This is in contradistinction to the ordinary method of constructing and ornamenting above referred to-namely, first constructing the shell, then filling it with fire-proof material, and finally painting the metal with material which does not require the application of a high heat.

I do not herein claim any of the subject-matter claimed in my other application heretofore filed, No. 110,225, the last said case relating to the oven and furnace by which is carried out part of the proccssto which the present case relates.

What I claim is 1. Theherein-described method of constructing and ornamenting fire-proof safes, it consisting in first securing together the sheets of 30 metal constituting the inner and outer walls of the chambers for the fire-proof material, then applying japan to the metal surfaces, then subjecting the metal and japan to a baking heat, and finally filling the said chambers 35 with the fire-proof material, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-d escribed method of constructing-and ornament-ing fire-proof safes, it consisting in first securing together the sheets of 0 metal which constitute the walls of the fireproof chamber and causing currents of air to pass through the said chamber, then applying japan to the metal surfaces and subjecting them to a baking heat, and finally filling the 43 said chambers with the fireproofing material, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES VH ITE.

WVitnesses:

J. B. FAY,

F. N. CARTER. 

